Volumetric development of hippocampal subfields and hippocampal white matter connectivity: Relationship with episodic memory.

The hippocampus is a complex structure composed of distinct subfields. It has been central to understanding neural foundations of episodic memory. In the current cross-sectional study, using a large sample of 830, 3- to 21-year-olds from a unique, publicly available dataset we examined the following questions: (1) Is there elevated grey matter volume of the hippocampus and subfields in late compared to early development? (2) How does hippocampal volume compare with the rest of the cerebral cortex at different developmental stages? and (3) What is the relation between hippocampal volume and connectivity with episodic memory performance? We found hippocampal subfield volumes exhibited a nonlinear relation with age and showed a lag in volumetric change with age when compared to adjacent cortical regions (e.

Dynamic functional network connectivity reveals unique and overlapping profiles of insula subdivisions.

The human insular cortex consists of functionally diverse subdivisions that engage during tasks ranging from interoception to cognitive control. The multiplicity of functions subserved by insular subdivisions calls for a nuanced investigation of their functional connectivity profiles. Four insula subdivisions (dorsal anterior, dAI; ventral, VI; posterior, PI; middle, MI) derived using a data-driven approach were subjected to static- and dynamic functional network connectivity (s-FNC and d-FNC) analyses.

Atypical developmental of dorsal and ventral attention networks in autism.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit early and lifelong impairments in attention across multiple domains. While the disorder is known to affect attention processes, very little is currently known about the brain networks underlying attention in ASD, and even less is known about whether these atypicalities persist across the lifespan. We used functional connectivity analysis applied to resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to explore the dorsal (DAN) and ventral (VAN) attention networks in two separate age cohorts of children and adults with and without ASD.

Asymmetric development of dorsal and ventral attention networks in the human brain.

Two neural systems for goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention have been described in the adult human brain; the dorsal attention network (DAN) centered in the frontal eye fields (FEF) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and the ventral attention network (VAN) anchored in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and ventral frontal cortex (VFC). Little is known regarding the processes governing typical development of these attention networks in the brain. Here we use resting state functional MRI data collected from thirty 7 to 12 year-old children and thirty 18 to 31 year-old adults to examine two key regions of interest from the dorsal and ventral attention networks.